Gather ye rosebuds while ye may Old time is still a flying And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying.
KEATING Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. The Latin term for that sentiment is 'Carpe Diem.' Now, who knows what that means?
MEEKS Carpe Diem... that's seize the day.
KEATING
Very good, Mr...?
MEEKS Meeks.
KEATING Seize the day, gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Why does the poet write these lines?
A STUDENT Because he's in a hurry?
KEATING No! Ding! KEATING Because we're food for worms, lads! Because we're only going to experience a limited number of springs, summers, and falls. One day, hard as it is to believe, each and every one of us is going to stop breathing, turn cold, and die! I would like you to step forward over here and peruse the faces of the boys who attended this school sixty or seventy years ago. You've walked past them many times, but, I don't think you really looked at them.
KEATING “They're not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they're destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? - - Carpe - - hear it? - - Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”
(Audio Available)
